The Need-to-Know List for Faculty Evaluating Probationary Faculty

This list will be updated as revisions or corrections are needed.

Access: Probationary Faculty Evaluation Documents and Forms

Overview

The probationary evaluation process is a flexible and careful process designed so that the probationary faculty member maintains a standard of excellence in the tenure process. Faculty are the primary reviewers of teaching methodology, curriculum choice, and delivery.

The evaluation is conducted by the probationary faculty members’ Tenure Evaluation Committee, known as their TEC.

The probationary faculty evaluation process is 4 years long. Probationary faculty members are evaluated each fall and spring of their first, second, and third academic years and fall of their fourth academic year. In spring of their fourth year, probationary faculty who have been recommended for tenure are conferred by the Governing Board.

• An academic year starts in fall, so probationary faculty members who begin full-time work in spring are not evaluated until fall and that spring is not counted in the “four years to tenure” calculation.
• Probationary Faculty members must serve at least 75% of their first academic year (fall and spring, not including intersession or summer) for the year to be counted toward tenure. Thus, leaves of absence resulting in the Probationary Faculty member missing more than 25% of the combined fall and spring semesters can delay their tenure process. In years 2, 3, or 4, time spent on paid or unpaid leave of absence may be included in computing service if the faculty member serves sufficient time during the year to allow for the evaluation of the faculty member as required by any negotiated evaluation procedure.
• Results of years 1-4:
  • The culmination of the 1st year evaluation report will result in a recommendation to the Governing Board to either “rehire” or “do not rehire.” For those rehired they are given a 1-year contract.
  • The culmination of the 2nd year evaluation report will result in a recommendation to the Governing Board to either “rehire” or “do not rehire.” For those rehired, they are given a 2-year contract.
  • In the third year, the probationary faculty is in a 2-year contract and the evaluation report culminates in a “satisfactory” or “unsatisfactory” finding. Third year report does not go to the Governing Board.
  • The culmination of the 4th year evaluation report will result in a recommendation to the Governing Board to either “rehire/grant tenure” or “do not rehire/deny tenure.”

The probationary evaluation process consists of:

• FALL semesters years 1-4
  • Three (3) classroom/workplace observations (four are permitted)
  • Student evaluations in all classes up to contract load and/or matrix evaluations for release time work (if requested or appropriate)
  • Self-evaluation document completed by the probationary faculty
  • Professional Development transcript submitted by the probationary faculty
  • A letter from the Department Chair
  • A letter from the Dean
  • Final written evaluation report
•  SPRING semester
  • Years 1-3
    • Student evaluations in all classes up to contract load and/or matrix evaluations for release time work (if requested or appropriate)
    • Spring meeting between the probationary faculty and the TEC
  • SPRING semester year 4
    • Nothing

Tenure Evaluation Committee (TEC)

The Tenure and Evaluations Committee (TEC) for the Probationary Faculty member is made up of:

• Department Chair (or designee)
• Second member (tenured) from the department (or a related discipline)
• Tenured faculty member from outside the department (selected by the TERB Coordinator and VPI)
• The division Dean
• In the case of an Improvement Plan, the VP joins the TEC for the duration of the Improvement Plan. (Counseling gets the VP of Student Services; all others get the VP of Instruction.)

The Department Chairs submits the name of the Chair or designee and the name of the second member to the TERB Office using this form [link].

Important TEC Information:

• Only tenured faculty members may serve on a TEC as Chair, Second Member, or Outside Member.
• The Department Chair submits the name of the Chair and the Second Member to the TERB Office within the first 2 weeks of school.
• TERB Office selects the outside member. The TERB Coordinator puts a call out to all tenured faculty for volunteers, selects the outside member for placement on the TEC, and the VP approves the placement.
• The TERB Office communicates the names of the full TEC to all members of the TEC and the probationary faculty member.
  • The TEC Chair should set a meeting for the end of the Fall semester for the TEC to draft/finalize the evaluation report.
• The Probationary Faculty member may challenge the second or outside member with a written statement to the TERB Committee (they cannot challenge the TEC chair). The challenge letter must be submitted to the TERB Office within ten days of the notification of their TEC in their first year or within ten days of the start of the second year of their tenure process.
• The Vice President (Instruction or Student Services) is not natively on the TEC, but they can be invited to join the TEC by any member of the TEC or by the evaluee themselves. A request expressing that desire should be sent to the TERB Office to initiate the process and alert all parties to the request.
• If a probationary faculty member is under an Improvement Plan, the VP is required to participate on the TEC.

Generally, the TERB Coordinator communicates with the TEC Chair and requests that the TEC Chair relay that communication to the rest of the TEC (faculty and Dean and, if part of TEC, the VP).

Fall Semester Process (all 4 years)

The Probationary Faculty evaluation in fall consists of  classroom/workplace observations (three are required but four are permitted), student evaluations (in all classes up to contract load) and/or matrix evaluations for release time work (if requested or appropriate), a self-reflection document by the evaluee, the evaluee’s most recently completed PD contract, a letter from the Department Chair, and the written review report. Here are the documents you need for the Probationary Evaluation Process [link].

The Tenure and Evaluations office uses the PNSR report to find the classes up for evaluation and consults with the TEC Chair to refine the list to ensure completeness. TEC Chairs may also submit this type of information to the Tenure and Evaluations Office using this form [link].

Steps to Conduct the Fall Evaluation

• Classroom/workplace observations (3 required, 4 permitted)
  • Observations are conducted using the relevant classroom/workplace observation form and occur about halfway through the term (usually October for full semester classes, see calendars for timing for other courses).
  • The TEC observer will contact the probationary faculty to set up a mutually agreed upon date and time to conduct the observation (it is intended to be a collaborative and collegial decision). It is important for the probationary faculty to identify time where they are actively instructing/working. The TEC Observer and probationary faculty should discuss the type of observation (online, F2F, workplace, etc) and ensure all important information is provided to the observer, such as providing the syllabus and conveying any areas that would like specific feedback about. The observers’ role is just to observe. There should be no interaction with students, Evaluee, or any class activities.
  • Two options for Online Course Observation:
    • Gain Canvas access to the evaluee’s online course and observe the course for a maximum of two weeks (including watching a live course if one occurs during the two week window). Evaluators hoping to watch a live course are encouraged to opt for this option.
    • Sit down with the evaluee and look through the online course with the evaluee while asking questions relevant to the observation (any recordings available on the online course can/should be viewed).
  • The probationary faculty and the TEC Observer should meet soon after the observation to note positive observations and constructive criticism based on the observation. Please don’t leave an evaluee hanging with anxiety by not sharing some thoughts from the observation in a reasonable timeframe following the observation.
• Student Evaluations (all courses up to load)
  • The TERB Office sends out the electronic student evaluations between about 50-75% of the course.
  • As of March 2020, Palomar no longer has a paper-based or scantron-based evaluation system, all student evaluations are conducted electronically for all modalities.
  • For face-to-face classes, on the day of the course observations, the observer can have the evaluee step outside and use a few minutes to explain the importance of student evaluations, provide an opportunity for students to ask questions, and encourage them to complete the evaluation by having them take out their devices and show them how to access the evaluation (they get an email notification and Canvas dashboard notifications with the link).
  • There are special circumstances where evaluations cannot be tied to the student roster, when this happens, TERB works with the TEC to determine the best options.
• Professional Development Transcript is downloaded from the 3PD Portal by the probationary faculty member and provided to the TEC
• Self-Evaluation is completed by the probationary faculty and provided to the TEC.
• Chair Letter from the Department Chair.

Steps to Complete the Fall Evaluation

• TEC: Evaluation Report and Meeting
  • The TEC works together to draft the evaluation report based upon the collected data.
    • Each discrete item in the report gets a separate rating. The final rating is not necessarily an average of the discrete items. Instead, the final rating is the evaluation of the Probationary Faculty member’s overall performance–using information from all the items. However, differently that with Part-Time or Tenured (Peer) Evals, if any single discrete item is rating as “Needs Improvement” or “Unsatisfactory,” an Improvement Plan is automatically triggered. (This means that an overall rating could be “Standard” despite a single item being “Needs Improvement” or “Unsatisfactory” and an Improvement Plan would still be required.)
    TEC Meeting
    • The TEC meets to finalize the report. To schedule this TEC Meeting, the TEC Chair should consult the schedules of other TEC faculty (including the outside member) and then work with the Dean’s office to schedule the TEC Meeting. These TEC Meetings typically happen in November and December–see calendars.
  • TEC provides report to VP
    • The chair of the TEC sends the finalized report, including any improvement plan and accompanying materials, to the Vice President(if they were not already on the TEC). The VP reviews and either signs the report or requests a meeting to discuss concerns before signing. Concerns may or may not lead to revisions depending on the result of the discussion; it depends on what the group of five decides collaboratively.
  • The VP signs the report first followed by the rest of the TEC.
• TEC and Probationary Faculty Meet
  • After the report is signed by the VP and TEC, members of the TEC (usually the Chair and Second) meet with the evaluee to review the report and ask for signature from the probationary faculty.
  • Note: Faculty do not receive their student evaluations until after grades are posted.
• Probationary Faculty Response
  • The evaluee has 10 business days from the date of their signing to write a response and submit it to the TERB Office; they should indicate if they’d like anyone else to immediately receive the response. The response becomes part of the evaluation packet.
• TEC Chair Submits Packet to TERB Office
  • The Evaluation report and materials should be submitted to TERB by the last day of the semester to allow time for the signature process and for the completion/submission of any follow-up materials, such as Improvement Plans or Evaluee response letters.
  • The reports (including any improvement plan and/or evaluee response) is then sent to the President/Superintendent for review. The President/Superintendent then communicates a recommendation to the Board for 1st, 2nd, and 4th year Probationary Faculty in time for their regular March meeting. As the President/Superintendent needs time to read the reports, it is essential to hit the February deadline.

Spring Semester Process (only years 1-3)

• Student Evaluations (all courses up to load)
  • Student evaluations are conducted in all classes up to load and/or matrix evaluations for release time work (if requested or appropriate) are completed.
• TEC and Probationary Faculty Meeting
  • The TEC Chair and at least one other member meet with the probationary faculty.
  • Discuss spring semester student evaluations and any other topics of importance.
  • TEC Chair complete and submit the the spring confirmation form to the TERB Office.
• The Spring Meeting Confirmation form is due to TERB by the last day of the semester.

SIGNATURES: For any part of the signing process, Adobe Sign is preferred for signatures, but not required. If you have other means of signing digitally, please do so. If you’d like to use Adobe Sign but are unsure how to do it, the TERB Office can help route the documents for signature.